Hot time at Cat's place

[SeaCat]

This morning I woke up sweating and couldn't understand why. The A/C was chugging along but it was almost as warm inside as it was outside. When I went out to check the A/C I found a wire burned out on the Compressor. I know this wire was put in place about three years ago by a licensed Electrician.

The entire wire has been replaced along with the connectors on both ends. (The other end was starting to look like this one.)

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj79/Seacat_01/Hotwire.jpg

By the time I was done the temperature outside had climbed to 94°F and the temp. inside the trailer had climbed to 97°F.

The temp inside has now dropped to 84°F.

Cat

 

[Handley_Page]

This morning I woke up sweating and couldn't understand why. The A/C was chugging along but it was almost as warm inside as it was outside. When I went out to check the A/C I found a wire burned out on the Compressor. I know this wire was put in place about three years ago by a licensed Electrician.

The entire wire has been replaced along with the connectors on both ends. (The other end was starting to look like this one.)

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj79/Seacat_01/Hotwire.jpg

By the time I was done the temperature outside had climbed to 94°F and the temp. inside the trailer had climbed to 97°F.

The temp inside has now dropped to 84°F.

Cat

How is that wire connected to its connector ?
Is it somewhere that gets warm ?

 

[SeaCat]

How is that wire connected to its connector ?
Is it somewhere that gets warm ?

The connection is a female Spade Connector crimped onto the end of the wire. The end shown was hooked up to a capacitor.

The Capacitor wasn't damaged.

Apparently the damage came either from a loose connection or a small break in the wire.

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

Looking closer at the wire end and the connector I can figure out the problem. There was a short or a break of some kind where the Female Spade Connector attached to the wire. This is clearly seen by:

A) The Butt end of the connector has melted or burned away.

B) The free end of the wire has melted and formed into a bulb.

C) Some of the Copper has vaporized and been replated on the cooled Insulation. (As seen by the green plating.)

D) The wire was hot enough to burn away an inch of insulation and melt the next inch into the wiring.

Gee, I sound like a Fire Fighter looking over the cause of a fire.

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

I have to say it was nice having the A/C working today. It reached 95°F outside today with a humidity of 70%. Inside it never rose above the programed 80°F.

I am thinking however about a couple of things.

I'm starting to save up money to replace the A/C with a newer model. (My father got one a couple of counties north of me for $1800 last winter.)

I'm also thinking about replacing the blower motor with a larger/faster one to move more air into the trailer. That shouldn't be a difficult job or even that expensive.

Cat